"He was always on the pretence of looking for a tiger, always intent on tracking or seeing a tiger in the wild but every time he came back he was a bit closer to seeing one but he never got to see a tiger."

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Manvell said "We have known our uncle Colin all our lives and we have always known him as a traveller who gave his time generously to his school and tennis clubs and all his other friends and family.

"We still have his photographs from his travels which we will hold very dear to us. It was quite unbelievable when it happened at the time, it's a one-in-a-million."